章 27: Misunderstood
After carefully setting Xie De in the cave, Da Ying got up and left the cave. Thirty minutes later, she returned with twigs and dried leaves, ready to make a fire. It didn't take long for her to create a fire. Once it was set, the fire dimly lit up the cave. Da Ying's eyes burned with happiness when she realized, there was water leaking from the far corner of the cave. That meant that there must be a source of water nearby. They would not die! Da Ying for the first time felt that the heavens had truly blessed her this time. She ran outside and grabbed a large leaf, folded it and held it under the dripping water. As soon as she collected enough water, she rushed over to Xie De once more. She knelt down, placing the leaf right next to his lips, about to pour it when she stopped. "Hmph! I actually fell for your acting. You actually collided with that witch to give me drugged soup. Why should I save you," Da Ying suddenly said to the unconscious Xie De. She was really angry when she thought about it. Why should she save someone who tried to kill her? Da Ying was still debating on whether she should save him or not when he suddenly coughed a few times. She got startled from the sudden sound. Xie De tried to open his eyes and speak but couldn't. After a few attempts at trying to speak to her, his body gave out on him once again. "Fine, I'll save you now and take my anger out later," Da Ying made up her mind. She didn't want to owe him in the future either.
After a few rounds of going back and forth, she tossed the leaf away. She knelt down in front of him once again. His face had gone deathly pale and his body was burning up. If she didn't tend to his wounds tonight, he may not be able to survive. "Qin Xie De," she lightly poked his shoulder. Still, no reaction! It was better to tend his wounds when he wasn't awake, Da Ying thought. If he woke up and accused her of being crafty, she may change her mind out of rage and not save him. This way was better for the both of them. Her fingers slowly reached towards the black silk sash holding his robe together. With one smooth pull, the knot of the sash untied. The corner of his robe opened, exposing his collarbone. Da Ying couldn't help but feel flustered for a moment. She took a huge breath and told herself, it was only him, Qin Xie De. Why did she need to feel flustered with? After calming herself down, she grabbed both of his collars and opened it wide, exposing his tan muscular chest. He looked like someone who had trained hard every day, which women would not stare. Da Ying was no exception, except she only looked for a quick second before getting back to work. Getting his robe undone was the easy part, trying to take it out of his arms was the hard part. He was by far heavier than her, it took her a huge effort to lift his arm and remove the sleeve one by one. If the drugs hadn't worn off earlier, she didn't know if she would have been able to take his robe off him.
Luckily, his right arm had stopped bleeding a while ago. Even though it stopped, the dried blood stains were still on his arm, the wound itself was quite deep too. Da Ying grabbed the hem of her skirt and ripped a long strip off. She walked over to the dripping water once more and wet the cloth.
The material was thick enough to absorb the blood but also thin enough for her to feel every arm muscle on his body. While wiping off the blood, she took a quick look at him. She had to admit, he was quite charming when he wasn't throwing accusations and annoying her.
After wrapping up his arm wound with another strip of cloth from the bottom of her dress, she covered his body with his robe. Da Ying stood up and stretched her arms before looking at him once more. "Qin Xie De, I've done all I could. It's up to you whether or not you survive tonight,"
Da Ying slept on the opposite side of the cave. It was the middle of the night; Da Ying woke up to the sound of Xie De muttering in his sleep. Without hesitating, she rushed over to his side. "What's wrong, Xie De?" she looked at him, his lips were cracking and his forehead filled with sweat. "Cold…cold…" he kept mumbling. Da Ying placed the back of her hand on his forehead and realized that he had a fever. Da Ying began to wet a strip of cloth with water and wiped his forehead a few times. After draining the water from the cloth, she folded it up nicely and placed it on his head. Thankfully, Da Ying was still wearing her full cloak; she took it off and wrapped it around Xie De. Da Ying leaned on the wall of the cave with her legs straight out, placing Xie De's head on her thigh, constantly checking his forehead.
Da Ying placed her hand on his forehead once more; his forehead was not feeling as hot anymore. As she was about to retract her hand, he grabbed her hand. "Qin Xie De," Da Ying yelled at him, trying to pull her hand away but couldn't. The strength he used to hold her hand kept tightening the more she tried to escape. "Mufei, don't leave me….don't go," Da Ying stopped struggling. "Mufei…." Da Ying placed her other hand on top of both his hands and reassured him. "I'm not going anywhere, get some rest,"
Next morning, Qin Xie De was finally conscious. He barely made a move when he felt the pain in his arm. The next moment, he realized there was someone next to him. He raised his head to see Da Ying sleeping in a sitting position. He was still resting his head on her leg. He stared at her face for a few moments before attempting to get up. Right when he got into a sitting position, a silver needle was placed right by his neck. He wanted to turn but was quickly stopped. "Don't move," Da Ying spoke aggressively. "If you move, I promise you my needle will paralyze you. I am known for my needle skills, don't try anything funny," Xie De couldn't believe he was being threatened this early in the morning. "If you don't want me to move, what do you want me to do? We both can't be in this position all day?"
"Answer my two questions truthfully and I'll let you go,"
"Fine,"
"If I learn you are lying, I won't hesitate to kill you…" with the needle still at his neck, she proceeded. "Are you helping Consort Yao?"
"I don't understand where you are coming from, why would I help Consort Yao?"
"Don't lie to me, if you aren't helping her, why did you trick me into drinking that soup. Hehe…I must admit, your acting had me fooled," Qin Xie De had already figured out that Consort Yao was the culprit behind the drugging. He just didn't know that Da Ying had learned of it too. "I really didn't know about the drugs. Do you think I would have drunk the soup if I knew there was something in it? Think about it," Da Ying stayed silent. "I am also a victim. That day, Consort Yao did come over. She came to ask for some soup, saying you weren't feeling too well. The empress had her maid go get you a bowl. Consort Yao followed her and they disappeared for a few moments. When she came back, I offered to bring it to you. She quickly agreed, and that was it. How was I supposed to know that she had ill intentions towards you? It's not like I know what goes on in the inner harem…" after he explained it to her, she still kept silent. It was driving him insane. "Whether you believe me or not, I won't change my statement."
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